Carl Zeiss adapts 50mm and 100mm Makro lenses for Canon

Carl Zeiss has announced it will make its 50mm and 100mm macro lenses in the Canon-compatible ZE mount. The Makro-Planar T* 2/50 and T* 2/100 ZE are both manual focus only and offer maximum magnification ratios of 1:2. The 50mm lens will be available this month, while the 100mm will follow in early 2010.

Thornwood, NY - December 4, 2009. Carl Zeiss has again applied its expertise in lens manufacturing to enable photographers to create wonderfully expressive images. With the introduction of two new macro lenses, the Makro-Planar T* 2/50 and the Makro-Planar T* 2/100, Carl Zeiss expands its existing ZE line of lenses for EF-mount cameras. Owners of EOS camera models can now create detail-rich macro images that allow the effective use of both sharpness and unsharpness to be deployed as creative elements. These fast, versatile lenses are also perfect as standard focal lengths for portraits or still life photography.

Even in tricky lighting situations such as dusk, the Makro-Planar T* 2/50 and T* 2/100 ZE create distortion-free images thanks to their extraordinary fast aperture. Whether capturing an insect resting on a flower or the moisture on a piece of fruit, these lenses allow a degree of sharpness that was hitherto impossible. Even with a maximum aperture opening and a low focal depth, the desired image can be easily isolated from its surroundings.

Both macro lenses render objects in close-up on a scale of 1:2. To enable such detail, these lenses include Carl Zeiss’s acclaimed “floating elements” design. This special lens alignment enables hi

gh optical performance across the entire focusing range, from 0.24 m to infinity as in the case of the 2/50 ZE lens. The Makro-Planar T* 2/50 and Makro-Planar T* 2/100 are currently available for F bayonet (ZF) and K bayonet (ZK) cameras. The Makro-Planar T* 2/50 is also available as a ZF.2 version. Both lens systems are optimized for analog and full-format digital SLR cameras.

The Makro-Planar T* 2/50 ZE will begin shipping in December 2009 at a MAP price of $1,283. The Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZE will be available in early 2010 with a MAP price of $1,843.